uReport on Hunan-
Revolution is powerful because there were so many peasants rising up
Mao disagrees with Marx: it will not be the workers but the peasants that lead the revolution
Not many workers, if they revolted the revolution wouldn't be powerful, a lot of peasants though, so it would be a strong revolution
  • Support or die
    • Imperialists
    • Warlords
    • Corrupt officials- KMT, unpopular b/c they wouldn't change social structure b/c they feared it would change their power and they were endorsing old and corrupt ways
    • Local gentry- were in control of land and used the power to exploit the people
KMT is against Revolution
Cities (WORKERS) are against the Revolution
Peasants vs. Feudalism (he's left Marx who believed this would be the step to capitalism)
Sun-Yet Sen's revolution didn't work because he wanted to embrace the past, Mao's will work because it is a revolution against history and will create a break from the past
Marx believed that you could only have power if you controlled the economic base, and if that base changed, the government had to change, too. Mao agreed and focused on taking control of the peasants, because their economy was based on agriculture.
The main revolution, according to Mao, is the peasants vs. feudalism. He believes that a revolution has to be violent in order to work. That you have to pull out the roots of the past in order to replace it, therefore, there is no way to go too far in a revolution.
Mao is the leader of the CCP, taking lessons from the Soviet Union. Because he is communist he believes a revolution is needed in order for the power to match the new economic base of complex industry. The peasants will rise up to make their voices heard.

Mao did not see the tragedies of the revolution as a bad thing, but as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of the people. He wanted China to completely rip the system of its past out of its present, and he believed the only way to do so was with an overwhelming and violent hurricane of hundreds of millions of people. Many of his ideas were taken from Marx, who believed that class warfare was necessary to secure the rule of the proletariat, but instead of the proletariat rising, the peasantry did. Sheer numbers combined with an extreme force for change allowed the peasants to overwhelm the government.


Mao-
Marx- believed that the proletariat revolution was inevitable- working class.
Dialectical materialism- governments will keep revolutionizing until Communism becomes the essential government.
Whoever controls economy has power
When economic base changes- government changes
Feudalism**-
Economic Base- Land
Power held by landlords , nobility-
exploit serfs- people
French revolution-peasants and bourgeoisie threw out feudalistic estate system- bourgeoisie become new economic power because …………
Industrial revolution- occurring at the same time changed economic base to trade and industry
Capitalist- money
Economic Base- Trade and industry
Power- held by Bourgeoisie because they control trade and industry
Exploit- workers


  • Mao's Peasant Movement
    • Revolution is powerful because of peasants
      • Not workers
      • Strength in the masses, etc.
    • Support or die
      • Imperialist
      • Warlords
      • Corrupt officials
        • KMT
        • Endorsing old, corrupt ways
      • Local gentry
    • Is it "Terrible"?
      • KMT against
      • Big Cities are against Rev.
        • Capitalist and government officials
        • Workers!
        • They lose power as things equalize
      • Boils down to Peasants vs. Feudalism
        • Sun Yat-sen didn't understand that the revolution must create break from past
        • Mao saw that the past is a hindrance and should be moved away from
    • Violence is to be expected
      • There is no going to far